Sutton County Courthouse - Sonora, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 30° 34.333 W 100° 38.634
14R E 342356 N 3383344
This 1891 Second Empire style courthouse is the only one Sutton County has ever had.
Waymark Code: WMPH2E
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 08/31/2015
Views: 4
NRHP Nomination Form"Due to its association with a prominent West Texas architect and its style, the temple possesses considerable regional significance. Ruffini left his imprint on many Texas communities and the building is an excellent example of the Second Empire style. A beautifully detailed work, it is one of the finest examples of nineteenth-century architecture to be found on the Edwards Plateau."
"Oscar Ruffini's Sutton County Courthouse (1891), and F.E. Ruffini's Blanco County Courthouse (1885) exemplify the style which appeared in a somewhat more decoratively evolved form in the Concho County Courthouse (1885) . While a high central tower was usual on many nineteenth-century courthouses, the Ruffinis developed the Mansard Roof of the Second Empire Style as the dominant visual element in a composition lacking a tower. Also, in contrast to the complicated massing of recessed bays and projecting pavilions usually encountered, the Ruffini's substituted a simpler geometry of superimposed elements in the facade."
"The Sutton County Courthouse, a small two-story structure of a cream-colored native stone, was built on the traditional patterns with intersecting corridors running through the center of the building, As was typical the courtroom was in the center of the second floor."